Weeeeee ones fly away....

This has been a swell Spring, with much life in and about the garden.

This past week we had the sweet, good fortune of watching these wee-est additions to our garden community venture beyond their very wee nest.

We first discovered the nest in the elderberry bush beside the tank house, just after mama hummingbird had laid her two tiny eggs.

The babies hatched and within a couple of weeks had filled the nest to near capacity. They were quite funny looking, all pin feathers and beak. By week three they were getting a bit restless.

The first of the babies to fledge, simply hopped up on the side of the nest, gave his wings a try and was gone.

The second fledging stayed for another 24 hours and, after several false starts and much fluttering of wings, managed to fly about 2 inches up and back down to a branch beside the nest. It stayed there for an hour or so, then tried again - this time he successfully flew to a nearby walnut tree, perched for a minute or two, and then flew back to the nest.

Sweet to see that even among sibling hummingbirds, some of us bloom a bit later than others. This little late-bloomer flew back and forth, from tree to nest, until it felt secure enough to explore the amazingly, endless infinity of our little piece of a perfect world - the McCormick House garden.

Happy Spring.....
Lisa & Mauro